Burning in Saltwater
by Corrin Smith
Summary: Perseus must find the Gorgon, Medousa, to save his mother from a ruthless king that want to marry her. But the greedy king wants more then Medousa's head, he wants to control over her.
1. Chapter 1

The Wish

It was cold in the vast city of Athens, citizens rushing to their shelters, starting their fires to keep themselves warm before night rolled in. The city looks like the sky with dim flickering stars. And like the dark sky, Athens had its moon, the temple of Athênê. It's lit by a thousand torches giving it its rich golden light as it sat on the tallest hill of the city.

All was silent in the temple as the night went on. Until a gust of wind came from the sky opening, blowing several of the torches out, dimming the temple slightly. Then another gust of wind went through, and the sound of strong wings echoed in the temple, diminishing more torches. On the sixth blast of wind the owner of the giant wings was on the decorative mosaic ground and all the lights were out. The visiter's size was of a small giant hovering over 11 feet tall. A little over half of the size of the grate statue of Athênê. It wore a dark cloak covering the unusual visiter and when it knelt down before the statue of Athênê, the cloak circled around it like soft rippling water. It just sat there and waited, a sound of defensive hissing came from the visiter's hood as the air became heavy. Like the oxygen was getting sucked out of the room. And when all was still again, a single Olive Pit popped out of Athênê's eye, dropping and bouncing off of the statue. When it hit the ground it burst into branches, plump with leaves and bright olives. They grew and morph; the leaves turn into armer and green chiton, the rough bark into smooth pale skin, and the olives into dark soft curly hair.

What once was a growing plant was now the grate Athênê. "You above anyone should know it offends me when my temple does not shine brightly, Medousa." Her voice was soft and kind.

The creature, known as Medousa, breathed in the thin air, "forgive me Goddess Athênê, I did not meant to insult you." Medousa lowered her head more to the ground, "I have come hear to ask you a grate favor. May I be allowed to speak it?" Medousa held in her breath, and silencing her snakes from hissing with her thoughts.

Athênê walk gracefully towards Medousa, touching her shoulder and urging her to stand up. "Let me see your face," was all she asked. Medousa took a shaky hand over her hood. Revealing tusks, thin snake hair, and large staring eyes. Athênê look at the daemon's features before continuing, "what do you wish to ask of me, my friend."

Medousa shifts, her clothes stuck against her thick leathery skin. Trying to find the courage to ask the goddess (her goddess) what she most desire. "Ever since I was made by the coral of the sea I have been by your side in battle, destroy enemy ships with sea storms and corals, and helping clean the city of Athens. But I have grown tired of battle and wish to serve you in another way." The daemon took a deep breath. "I wish to be your priestess, here in the temple."

"Do you understand what you are asking me? Your freedom will belong to me, you will not be aloud to leave my temple or gardens unless I need you ells where. Are you sure you want to be a slave to me?" Athênê asked very calmly.

Medousa looked down at her monsteruss hands that were covered with scars and calluses. "These hands belonged to you the first day we met, where the sea met the sand of the Sikelia island." She laughs at the memory, Athênê just through the island at Enkelados with Medousa on it. She was the most beautiful thing the Gorgon ever seen. "I will serve you for the rest of my life, my only wish is to be with you."

"What do your sisters think of this?" The Goddess ask.

The Gorgon's snakes hist at the thought of Stheinô and Euryalê. "They do not understand my loyalty to you. They say I have abandon the sea and its Gods… I may have salt water in my blood but I never belonged to the waters of the world." Medousa heard the Aegean Sea thrashing agents the rocky shores, pleading her to come back. "I belong here, with you." She finally looks at the Goddess with her electrical purple eyes.

Athênê smiled lovingly at Medousa. She put her milky colour hands on the Gorgon's smoke shaded, scaly cheeks making them turn dark with her touch. "I will grant your wish." Medousa was so happy she wanted to twirl out to the sky with Athênê in her arms, but instead she restrain herself, fluttering her wings. "But you can't look like this, a human soul is fragile and dangerous. Any beast or creature that they do not understand will fear it and kill it without a second thought." Athena began to pet one of the snakes on top of the Gorgon's head, the snake wrapped around the goddess's warm hand in delight. "You can not be what you are, you must change your form." She leaned so close to Medousa there mouths were inches a whey from each other. The Goddess breathed in the Gorgon's breath and stepped back a couple of feet and spoke. "This is going to hurt, and I can't let you wake up Athens with your screaming." Medousa was stun to here her own voice coming out of Athênê's lips and took a step back. "Metaschimatismó" Athena whispers.

At first nothing happened, all was still, and all was quiet but the angry sea clashing its waves on the sandy shores nearby. Then the change began, blood speud out of the Gorgon's mouth, she was confused as she saw her blood glimmering on the floor. Medousa felt something chewy and wiggly in her mouth, she took two clawed fingers and pulled out the mysterious mass. Both of her strong tusks shattered like glass as she pulled her fingers back out. Her eyes widened as she flung the thing on the floor, it fell onto the thick red liquid. It was her tongue! The moment her tongue hit the floor the room began to spin and warp. She tried her best to stay up straight while staring at Athênê, trying to hide her fear. Then, an uncomfortable pressure went up her chest to her throat, Medousa went down on her knees and hurled food and stomach acid and then a slimy, bloody mass. She heaved as she saw her stomach on the floor, dying in front of her. Her lungs went up after that. To her, she herd her screams echoing on the temple walls but in reality all was heard was her histearic breathing. Then, a searing pain went over her back and underneath her shoulder blades. Medousa fluttered her wings rapidly as they began to break and shrink into her back. She felt the broken bones of her wings dissolving into her shoulder blades and her large feathers liquefied into her blood stream. Medousa fell to the ground in her own fluids shivering in pain, 'Athênê, please let it be the end. I don't think I can take it any more of this.' She pleated silently to the goddess. But, that would be too simple. Her skin began to burn and itch, the cloke felt like fire and she began tear the fabric into peaces, exposing all of her skin (her skin was bubling). Medousa started to scratch her thick skin making some of her skails flake off, grasfoly floating down to the filthy mosaic floor. She kept on itching and scratching that turned into pulling and ripping of the flesh. Chunks of skin fell into the pile of what she once was, the flesh of her back, her thise, her chest, face, it all fell. While her skin fell, her body began to shrink for a 11 foot giant to a small figure of little over five feet (5.3). She could feel all of her snakes dying from suffocation, giving her the impulse to rip them out. Leaving wet, blobby black lock on her scalp.

When her trensformation was compleat, all the pain went away, she didn't even feel herself crashing to the disgusting ground. She couldn't feel anything, not her body violently shaking, or the cooling blood blanketing her body, nothing. Until, she felt the warm hand of Athênê on her cheek, the goddess began to wipe the muck off her new human face. Medousa's new skin was olive colure and flawless, what ever scars she might had went with her old gray skin. Then, Athênê took Midousas' hands and guide them to scoop up some of the liquids off the floor. Athênê blew into the cuped hands, turning the fluids white and bright. "Drink this, it will give you new organs, it will also give your new voice." Medousa hesitated at Athênê's order, the goddess let out a small quiet laugh. "It will not hurt, I promise."

With that, Medousa began drinking out of her hands. As she swallowed the bright light, she felt the growth of her new stomach and lungs, and her mouth filled with a small squishy tongue instantaneously. "My goddess." Medousa shock herself with her own voice, it sound pure and light.

"Come, lets get you clean up and fed, you must be hungry with your new empty stomach." Athênê said as she brought Medousa to her feet and cover her with a roab. "I hope you like your new life as my priestess."


	2. The Deal

The Deal

I am going to pass the birth of Perseus and being cast out to sea. I am going to start where King Poldektes came in to his life and takes his mother, Danae.

* * *

The man ran across the island of Seriphos pushing everything that came across his path: friends, neighbours animals, stans, carts, nothing was getting in his way. He ran through his little village on the shores of the island, running all the way to the king's tent. He burst into the tent in rage with a sword in his hand.

"POLYDEKTES!" He roar. three men came at him with their own weapons, he slice through them with barbaric rage.

"Stop!" Poldektes voice range in the mans' ears . He looks at the end of the tent and saw King Polydektes holding a dagger to a woman's throat. "we don't want to do anything foolish now."

"Perseus." The woman whispers as tears ran down her cheek, catching the small creases on her face. The King Polydektes arrived at their shores about three days ago for a conjoining union of two kingdoms. He didn't take two steps when the mother of the demigod almost rand him over. At first he was furious, how dare this woman assault him, she must be punished. But when she lifted her face to him, he felt like his bones were melting from his aching heart. Lovely Danae, he thought she was Aphroditê, but older. Polydektes knew he need to get his hands on her, he sought her out that very night to beg for her hand. But Danae and her son rejected him, Perseus told him that he will never get near his mother again. Well as a king and a man, he couldn't take no for an answer.

Perseus, was so focus on the king he didn't see the two soldiers that came towards him. One of the men hit Perseus at the back of the neck with the pommel of his sword. He crashes to his knees, the soldier grab his long brown hair and held his sword to his jugular, ready to slice his throat. But Poldektes brought his hand up and the soldier stop, keeping his sword at Perseus's neck.

"If you hurt my mother in anyway, I will kill you." He growls.

"Don't be so aggressive. Your mother is a very lucky woman. She has cot my eye and I want her for my own." King Poldektes took away the dagger and began to rub the womans' neck and pull away strands of hair from her well age face.

"Don't take her from me, She is all I have left." Perseus struggls to get the solders off of him.

"Sorry boy, but you don't belong with her anymore. So you have a choice; you can leave Seriphos and never come back, or you can die hear in front of your dear mother."

"I will go through a hundred of your men before I let you take my mother away from me!" He hiss.

"Very well then, Danae darling please come away." Poldektes terns her away as the solders drag Perseus out of the tent.

"Wait!" Danae calls out to the men the held her son. She flatten her hands on the kings chest, pleading, "My king, please let him live. Let him… let him prove his worth standing beside you. Yes he is young, but he can use a sword better then any other man, give him a single task and he will meet it, please."

"What could he possibly do to win his worth to me," he said without a thought and waves his hand to his men and they began to drag Perseus once more. Poldektes turn a round and pour himself some red Etruscans wine, ignoring the ruckus behind him. Poldektes took a drink as Perseus was gutting one of the men with their own sword but was easly over taken again. After finishing his cup he pour himself another and one for the screaming woman, but then a grey owl's fether float in his cup. Time have stop, nothing moved but Poldektes and the fether. He picked up the grey fether, it gleamed bleu and green as the sun shined a pond it. Whispers of an owl ate away at his ear; telling him things, things that can change everything.

The cries of Danae suddenly rang in his ears and he barks at his men. "Stop!" He kept looking on the fether "Stop, bring him hear." The man on the right was angry, he wanted to put his sword in the middel of Perseus's eyes making damn sure the slut of a mother was watching. They drag Perseus back to there king and through him on a stain carpet.

Poldektes sight did not leave the feather, "there is something you can do to prove your worth. There is an island where a creature so hideous the very sight of it will turn you into stone. People called it Midusa, I want you to find 'it' and bring its head to…" He suddenly stops.

The owl's voice scratch inside him, telling him what to do, what to say. 'The head is all you need, just the head.'

'But telling a demigod to fetch a head would be too easy. The goal is to get rid of him. And a ceature like that, why stop at the head?'

"I want you to bring the creature back here, alive!" The air thicken, " I will give you three years to complete this task, if you don't come back in that time then you will be exiled from Seriphos. Any attempts to set foot on this land, you will be executed. But in those three years I will not touch a single hair on your mothers head." Poldektes caress the air a round Danae, she cringe at the gesture. "I give you my word," Poldektes moves away from the woman and takes out the dagger. He carve a line down his right palm, hot blood drip onto the carpet darkening the already deep red material. He gives the dagger to Perseus without fear, Perseus takes the dagger. "I give you my blood oath." The king gives Perseus his dripping hand, "Do we have a deal?"

without a second thought, Perseus slit his own hand clapping it in Poldektes's hand. The young man poles his king closer to him. "I will come back." then lets go. He rushes to his mother, kissing her on the forehead. "I will free you, I promise."

"Perseus no. Midusa will kill you, if not on the island then on the journey home. Please, let me go. You are too young to die." She broke into a crying fit.

Perseus embraced her firmly and whispers, "I promise to come back for you." he suddenly lets go, and leaves the tent.

What have she done? Danae help sentens her son to exile with three years of empty hopes.


End file.
